Ride-Sharing Price War Intensifies With Lyft’s ‘Happy Hour’ Discount

Lyft is offering 10% to 50% off rides during low-demand times to entice both drivers and riders.

Getty Images

Competition is driving down prices in the cutthroat market for ride-sharing apps.

The latest promotion comes from Lyft, which today announced “Happy Hour,” a discount of 10% to 50% off rides during times of low demand for the service. The deals could help Lyft drivers pick up more fares on average, the company said in a blog post.

Lyft and rivals Uber and Sidecar have struggled to balance the supply of drivers they have on the road with soaring demand for passenger pick-ups. In the past year all of them have implemented some form of surge pricing, which charges passengers more during times of high demand.

“This vote makes Seattle the only city in the country to impose a cap on peer-to-peer transportation,” a Lyft spokeswoman said in an email. “In doing so, the Council is disregarding the voices of thousands of citizens who spoke out in opposition to these restrictions.”

“This fight is not over, and as we explore our options, we urge Mayor Murray to reject the anticompetitive and arbitrary caps that will slingshot Seattle’s transportation ecosystem back into the Dark Ages,” Brooke Steger, Uber’s Seattle General Manager, said in an emailed statement.